Strange Bedfellows
by KYTIVAFAN
Summary: Sometimes those that you see as your enemy is actually your ally
1. Chapter 1

Title: Strange Bedfellows

Rating: PG

Word Count: 513

Character(s): Tony DiNozzo and Trent Kort

Summary: Sometimes those we view as enemies are actually allies

Author's Note: Possibly the start of a multi chapter – we'll see what Bert thinks….

Disclaimer: Still not mine…

The noise jolted Tony out of a sound slumber; he instinctively reached for the gun at his hip but found only the waistband of the running shorts he had worn to bed. He swore silently as he remembered taking off his gun and laying it on the kitchen counter. He raised his head to better hear any additional noises and listened intently. Even though he was listening for it, he just about jumped out of his skin when the loud pounding began on his door.

He swore more loudly this time and with a racing heart he stumbled through his living room knowing he would be hearing about the disturbance from his elderly neighbor. He walked past the kitchen and his gun; his gut telling him he wouldn't need it. He looked through the peep hole and swore for the third time - loud enough for the person standing on the other side of the door to hear.

Tony opened the door and glared at a yawning Trent Kort "What do you want? It's 2 freaking a.m."

Kort smiled genially at Tony and answered "I know what time it is Agent DiNozzo. I have a watch."

As Kort raised his left wrist to look at the time, Tony caught a brief glimpse of a black Blancpain wristwatch and snorted in disdain.

Kort noticed the glance and the ensuing snort, but it served only to deepen his smirk "I see that I must soon hurry along, I have a flight but I wanted to pass along some friendly information before I depart"

"About what?" questioned Tony

"It's actually about whom" replied Kort gesturing for Tony to invite him in

"You're not coming into my home" snarled Tony

Kort frowned at the blatant insult and replied "This is not the type of conversation one has in hallways Agent DiNozzo"

Tony didn't answer and he didn't step back to allow Kort entrance.

Kort laughed softly glancing momentarily at the ceiling, when his gaze returned to Tony, he simply said "Ray Cruz"

Those words were the key and Kort knew it, Tony had no choice but to step back and allow Kort into his apartment.

xo0ox

Kort stepped into Tony's home and made a cursory glance around the living space noting that it was functional but boring, much like how he considered DiNozzo.

Tony shut the door behind them and faced Kort cutting quickly to the chase "What about Ray Cruz?"

Kort was equally forthcoming "He is not who you think he is"

"What is that supposed to mean? Then who is he?" snapped Tony

"He is a very dangerous man, one that needs close watching. A man with a ….agenda"

"What does he want?"

"Well now Agent DiNozzo, you already know what he wants; you just need to figure out a way to ensure that he doesn't get it"

Tony felt his chest tighten so that he couldn't draw breath into his lungs, but he was able to push out the one word that his mind was screaming "Ziva"

Kort nodded solemnly "She is in danger"


	2. Chapter 2

Strange Bedfellows – Chapter 2

"Ziva is in danger? From Ray?" coughed Tony

Kort glanced quickly at his watch "Relax Agent DiNozzo, she is in no immediate danger. Cruz is enroute to Tel Aviv as we speak"

"Tel Aviv?" Tony cursed loudly "How do you know he's in Tel Aviv?"

Kort chuckled "Because I sent him there"

"You sent him there?"

"Maybe we should start at the beginning" suggested Kort gesturing to the couch.

Tony nodded in the affirmative "Give me two minutes to put on some clothes, It feels weird standing here half naked talking to you"

Kort snorted "By all means, Agent DiNozzo"

Tony walked into his bedroom and quickly slipped on a t-shirt and pair of jeans. He walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, staring at his reflection in the mirror – he made a silent promise to Ray Cruz _over my dead body._

Tony returned to his living room to find Kort sitting on his couch drinking a beer

"By all means Kort, help yourself"

"Got one for you too" answered Kort nodding towards an opened bottle on the end table next to the arm chair.

Tony sat down and took a long drink of the beer, it was actually exactly what he needed, he rested the cold bottle against his forehead briefly then looked at Kort and sighed "Tell me"

"Ray Cruz is not the run of the mill field agent that he has led everyone to believe. He is actually part of a unit that is affectionately known within the organization as _The Hand._ The Hand basically controls the geopolitical climate around the world. Ray Cruz is _The Latin Hand – _basically nothing happens in South America without Ray Cruz having his fingerprints all over it."

Tony was appalled remembering Ray's words _it's what I do, not who I am_ – and thought _yeah right, dirt bag._

Kort continued "So Imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from someone very high in the organization telling me that I would be working with Cruz and to give him my full attention and cooperation. I don't normally work South America, I work for the Eastern European Hand, but I go where I am told. No details were given, only that I would be contacted at a later time. When I arrived in Washington to assist with Cobb I found that _Field Agent_ Cruz had been assigned as the CIA liaison to NCIS and was in a long standing personal relationship with Agent David. You can well imagine that my interest was indeed peaked, but no further information was forth coming from Cruz so I played along.

Kort paused to finish the last of the beer.

"When I was being held by Cobb he was taunting me; I was only half listening to him because most of what he was saying was about his childhood and his father, but then he started babbling about Cruz and the CIA wanting Ziva David, but that he had messed them up by taking her himself."

"Why does the CIA want Ziva?" questioned Tony

"I don't know, Cobb seemed to remember who I was and shut up. But after it was all over I did say something along of the lines of _your handlers will be happy that Cobb didn't kill David. _Cruz blew it off well enough, but I know the comment struck a nerve because one of my sparrows called to inform me that Cruz was making high level inquires about me."

"I don't understand any of this" said Tony rubbing his face with both hands.

"That's all I know" supplied Kort glancing again at this watch before saying "I have to go, but I have bought you 24 maybe 48 hours before Cruz realizes that I am not in Israel. What you choose to do with what I have given you is left up to you."

Kort stood and walked to the door with Tony following him, as Tony opened the door he asked the question that been biting at the back of his mind since he opened the door to find Kort "Why are you telling me this? We aren't exactly friends and there has been bad blood between us for years"

"No, we aren't friends, but I owed you; when I walk out this door, I consider my debt paid"

A look of comprehension passed between the two men as Tony nodded in acknowledgment and with that Trent Kort turned and walked down the hallway without a look back.

Tony closed the door and retrieved his cell from his jacket pocket - after checking the time – 3:10 am he dialed from memory and grimaced as the phone on the other end was answered after only one ring and a groggy voice snapped "This had better be good"

"Boss, we got a problem"


	3. Chapter 3

Tony DiNozzo was frustrated. It had been almost a month since Trent Kort's early morning visit and no matter how much they poked, prodded and dug, he and Gibbs had been unable to find anything even slightly incriminating against Ray Cruz and to make matters even worse it seemed as if Trent Kort had fallen off the face of the planet. The only thing that kept him sane was the fact that Ziva was worried that she hadn't heard from Ray – it was a poor pay off, but one Tony was willing to accept.

Gibbs had already sent Ziva and McGee home so they were free to talk openly for the first time that day.

"I feel so damn useless, why can't find anything on this guy?" snapped Tony

"Don't know" answered Gibbs "He just may be that good or could be there is nothing to find. How confident are you that Kort was telling the truth?"

Tony processed the question for a minute before answering "I know this is Trent Kort we are talking about and normally I wouldn't trust anything that comes out of his mouth, but my gut tells me he is on the level with this"

"Good enough for me" replied Gibbs "go home, get some sleep. Tomorrow is Saturday – we have the place to ourselves – maybe we will catch a break. Are you sure you don't want to bring McGee in on this? He can make do with the computer do dah faster than we can"

Tony grinned at the inside joke and Gibb's uncharacteristic attempt to lighten the situation "I would like nothing better, but until we know more – I don't want to involve anyone else"

Gibbs nodded "Your call".

o O o

On the way home, Tony stopped to pick up a six pack of beer and a pizza, he debated calling Ziva and asking her to come over for dinner and a movie and then decided against it- he had been trying to keep his distance for the past few weeks because he knew if they spent any amount of time alone together the dam would burst and all the details and questions about Ray would come rolling out, and he couldn't take the chance that she would become more involved than she already was.

Tony unlocked his apartment door and went straight to the kitchen to put the beer in the refrigerator – after grabbing a beer and two slices of pizza he walked into his living room carefully balancing the pizza slices, the bottle of beer and the TV remote - only to drop them all on the floor and reach for his gun when he saw a man slumped on his couch. He squinted in the dim light immediately recognizing Trent Kort and reholstered his weapon, instead of being angry that Kort had evidently picked his locks and once again made himself at home uninvited, Tony was relieved and more than slightly pleased to see him.

"Agent DiNozzo – do you always work this late on Friday evenings?" asked Kort as he sat up and smoothed the wrinkles from his pants.

"Kort – where the hell have you been?"

"Most recently? Miami"

"Did you find Cruz?"

"I wasn't looking for him "

"Then why go to Miami?"

"Agent DiNozzo, do you really want to know my travel itinerary or would you rather I tell you why the CIA is after your Agent David?"

Tony sat in the armchair giving Kort his full attention "I am all ears"

"The CIA wants Agent David to take over the Reynosa drug cartel"

Tony couldn't help it; the idea was so absurd that he laughed.

"I assure you Agent DiNozzo, I am quite serious. The CIA was using Paloma Reynosa and her brother to help shift the balance of power in the Mexican government – if you need to know anything about Mexican politics know this – the real power belongs to the cartels - and the Reynosas were the largest and most ruthless, but Paloma's ruthlessness was her undoing – she became hard to control and the CIA was looking to replace her – and Ziva David is the name at the top of a very short list – it was not happenstance that your investigation of the cartel led to Miami and it is no coincidence that Ray Cruz _bumped_ into her there"

Tony laughed again "If the CIA knew anything about Ziva, they would how far off the mark they really are"

"On the contrary Agent DiNozzo – on paper Ziva David is the ideal candidate: she is a newly minted American citizen eager to prove her loyalty to her new country, she speaks multiple languages, she is a trained assassin and would have no problems killing if someone needed killing and she is quite beautiful. Men will lie, steal and murder in the service of a beautiful woman. Her reputation from Mossad precedes her and her name can still incite fear in some circles. Actually if the shoe were on the other hemisphere so to speak, I would be pursuing her myself; her talents are wasted at NCIS."

Tony growled "If you think that, then why are you here?"

Tony was startled as a voice behind him said "Because we need your help"

Tony couldn't believe his ears, as he turned and saw Ray Cruz standing in the doorway between his living room and bedroom; he couldn't stop the profanities from slipping from his mouth as he turned back around to face Kort "What the hell is going on here?"


	4. Chapter 4

Trent Kort looked at Tony and said "I think you will want to hear what he has to say"

Tony was beyond livid – this was getting to the point of ridiculousness so he angrily spat "You tell me three weeks ago that Ray Cruz is a danger to Ziva and now you bring him right to my front door. Are you out of your mind freaking mind Kort?"

Ray stepped out of the shadow of the doorway and spoke to Tony "I can assure you that I am no danger to Ziva. I love her."

_That_ was the wrong thing to say to Tony in his current state of mind – in three steps he was across the room and landing a punch to Ray's jaw. Kort quickly stepped forward and placed himself between the two men before it could turn into an outright fight. He wrestled Tony down on the couch and said "I enjoy watching a good fight, but you really need to hear him out"

Ray got up off the floor rubbing his jaw and said "I deserve that, so this one is on me. But try that again and you will find yourself in a world of pain"

Tony growled in response and attempted to get off the couch. Kort pushed him back down and said "Believe me; you don't want to test him". It took all his self control, but Tony was able to make himself sit still.

Ray came around and sat in the arm chair "I know what Agent Kort has told you. Now let me tell you my side of the story"

"It is true that the CIA assigned me to get to know Ziva. To determine if she would be a viable option for leading the Reynosa cartel and if so, recruit her for that purpose. "

Tony started to rise from the couch again "You son of a …"

Kort roughly pushed him back down again and said "I grow tired of this game cocking Agent DiNozzo. If you aren't interested in listening to what he has to say, then he will leave."

Tony wanted to kill Ray Cruz, but he also wanted – no, he needed to know that Ziva was safe so he sighed and sat back into the couch, running his hands through his hair and said "Ok, I am listening"

Without preamble Ray continued "I knew within one week of meeting her that she was not what the CIA wanted, she would never be a pawn in their game. I also learned that week that she was someone I wanted to get to know better. She – she fascinated me. So, I decided to tell the CIA that I needed more time, she wouldn't be easily turned; but that I thought I could do it. So I bought myself time – time to spend with Ziva while pretending to turn her. I knew that I couldn't drag it out forever – eventually someone within the organization would figure out what I was doing, so I began to formulate a plan."

Ray rose from the arm chair and started walking around the room while continuing his story "I was walking a thin line, I knew if I failed, they would send in someone else to try to turn her, it was the only way to protect her"

Tony felt the bile rising in his throat and snarled "So you continued to date her, to sleep with her, allow her to fall in love with you; betraying her over and over- all in the name of protecting her?"

Ray had the good sense to look guilty before replying "All the while, I was working on setting up a new cartel in power. If the Reynosa's were no longer important to the CIA – then Ziva wouldn't be either. Please understand, in my heart – I was true to my feelings for Ziva, it was the CIA that I was betraying. And my plan worked – I did move another cartel in and the CIA was losing interest in Ziva. I thought I was home free and I could finally come clean with her – but then Jonas Cobb happened."

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing; it was almost like something out of one his spy movies. He reminded himself that this was exactly the world that Ziva used to live in, a world of intrigue, danger and betrayal. He silently thanked God that she didn't live in it anymore.

Tony questioned again "How could you let her fall in love with you when you knew you would only end up breaking her heart in the end?"

Ray gave him an incredulous look and said bitterly "That's rich, coming from you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked a confused Tony

"It means that I was never in any danger of Ziva falling in love with me. I knew that there was something or someone holding her back, but it wasn't until I walked into the bullpen that day that I knew for sure."

"I don't know what you are talking about…"

"Like hell, you don't" snarled Ray "You say you're just partners, she says you're like a brother to her. The only ones you are kidding are yourselves"

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing – could Ziva really be in love with him? He was sure about his feelings for her, but he was also just as sure that he would never be able to act on them. Now he wasn't quite so sure of anything. He shook his head to clear his thoughts; this was hardly the time to be thinking along those lines.

"Look Ray, you can believe what you want about me and Ziva – it doesn't change what you did"

Ray spat angrily "I protected her – the best way I knew how."

Kort spoke "Let's move this along, shall we?" Tony had to admit that he had forgotten that Kort was even there.

Ray continued "Then Cobb came along and almost ruined everything. Kort was assigned to be my back up and I began to suspect that he had found out exactly what I had done to protect Ziva. I was afraid that he suspected the finger puppeting I had done to install another cartel in power and then the ruse would be up. It was only today when Kort and I finally put our chips on the table that I realized I had nothing to fear from him"

Tony had to know – he had to hear Ray say the words, so he asked "Ziva is safe. The CIA is no longer interested?"

Ray nodded in the affirmative "I can assure you that Ziva is safe from me and from the CIA. She is no longer a person of interest to them"

Tony sighed in relief and felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. As he was mentally trying to decompress from the weeks of stress, he remembered Ray's first words to him tonight.

"If Ziva is ok – then why do you need my help?"

Kort and Ray shared a look and Tony didn't like what he saw pass between them. Both men were silent and Tony was starting to get uncomfortable, his gut began to churn again. Finally, it was Kort who broke the silence.

"We know about your assignment from Secretary Jarvis"

Tony felt his mask fall into place and didn't say a word – he knew the only people who knew about that assignment were himself, Director Vance and Secretary Jarvis. That secret was tight, or so he thought.

Kort continued "We know that you have been assigned to find a mole leaking classified NCIS information. The leaking of classified intel goes beyond NCIS. It is also occurring at the CIA and the FBI. We believe that this is not the work of one person, but is more organized in nature. I have been assigned by my superiors to find the leak in the CIA. I thought it would be expeditious if we worked it together – confidentially of course."

Tony's head began to hurt with the implications and it was all just a little too much too soon. He turned to Ray and asked "Where do you fit in all of this?"

Ray answered "No where. I am not part of this. I came only to assure you that Ziva is safe. You won't be seeing me again after tonight" Tony hoped that was true.

Tony turned back to Kort and said "If what you are saying is true, then why haven't the organizations formed a task force to work together on this?"

Kort smirked and said "You really are too good to be true Agent DiNozzo. You know the organizations can't work together on anything – too much _measuring_ going on so to speak. No, we all like to keep these things in house."

Tony considered Kort's words and found he had to agree "What about the FBI? Do they have someone working on their end?"

Kort nodded in the affirmative "Agent Casey Stratton"


End file.
